</ 


University  Library 
University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


-HUGH  F.  O'NEIL, 

0GDEN,  UTAH 

Money  and  Our  Utah  Work. 


BY.   REV.   J.   D.    NUTTING,    SECRETARY  UTAH   GOSPEL  MISSION 
OF   CLEVELAND. 

Money  can  do  or  help  do  many  things.  Just  as*  surely 
it  will  spoil  or  help  spoil  others.  Enough  of  it  to  live 
on,  or  life's  essentials  instead,  are  necessary  for  any 
missionary.  But  in  some  fields  more  than  this  is  a 
stumblingblock,  hindering  the  very  work  which  God 
sends  the  worker  to  do.  So  it  was  with  Paul  at  Cor- 
inth, as  he  intimates  in  I  Cor.  9  :15-22  and  the  earlier 
part  of  the  chapter.  And  he  did  not  grumble  at  it, 
nor  turn  away  in  disdain  from  that  critically  urgent, 
pagan  field  in  a  center  of  outreaching  influence.  He 
made  of  it  a  help  instead  of  a  hindrance  to  the  gospel, 
by  squarely  accepting  its  challenge  with  the  added  self- 
denial  necessary;  thus  refuting  objectors  and  proving 
the  pure  supremacy  of  Christianity  as  it  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  been  proved  in  any  other  way.  The  Gospel 
must  be  preached  to  the  Corinthians  according  to  the 
last  command  of  Christ,  at  any  cost;  and  he  was  per- 
fectly ready  to  meet  that  cost  and  do  it.  More;  he 
made  of  this  difficulty  an  example  to  all  workers,  and 
by  inspiration  it  gave  us  the  glorious1  illustration  of 
Christian  love  and  principle  of  Christian  work  which 
has  inspired  millions  of  others  and  will  never  cease,  "! 
am  made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  by  all  means  I 
might  have  some."  Paul  believed  in  adapting  his  meth- 
ods even  to  the  groundless  prejudices  of  a  pagan  peo- 
ple, in  non-es'sentials ;  he  was  glad  to  take  added  hard- 
ship which  would  enable  him  to  win  more  to  his  Christ. 
He  "counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself."  The 
Cross  was  his  symbol  of  life,  not  the  pillow.  His  all 
was  given,  not  merely  a  part,  to  the  service  of  his  Mas- 
ter. To  have  refused  the  added  item  of  self-denial 
needed  to  reach  this*  people  would  have  been  to  place 
ease  above  their  salvation,  counting  his  own  momentary 
comfort  of  more  value  than  the  eternal  welfare  of 
those  to  whom  his  Lord  had  sent  him.  It  would  have 


2 

shown  him  in  so  far  a  traitor  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
and  thus  unworthy  of  even  the  name  of  his  Lord.  It 
would  have  robbed  the  world  of  this  noble  pean  of  tri- 
umph, and  very  likely  also  of  the  Corinthian  Church 
and  its  great  work,  which  resulted  from  this  spirit;  as 
well_  as  the  New  Testament  of  all  his  grand  writings 
and  all  future  time  of  the  mighty  results  of  all  of  these 
together.  It  would  practically  have  wiped  Paul  off  the 
map  of  history.  "Great  doors  turn  on  little  hinges"; 
next  to  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  Cross,  it  is'  very 
probable  that  thus  the  greatest  door  of  influence  in  all 
subsequent  history  swung  on  Paul's  glad  determination 
for  self-sacrifice  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  people 
of  Corinth.  One  can  hardly  imagine  the  disastrous 
consequences  if  he  had  chosen  the  opposite  course. 
And  the  same  in  kind,  if  not  in  degree,  is  true  in 
our  day,  and  in  Utah. 

Gospel  work  in  the  Utah  region  is  unique;  it  differs 
from  all  ordinary  kinds  in  points  which  are  at  once 
critical^ and  little  understood  (see  tract  "Special  Diffi- 
culties/') We  need  Paul's  wisdom  in  adaptation  there 
if  anywhere.  It  resembles  the  Corinthian  field  in  its 
pagan  beliefs,  materialism,  worldlines's  and  antipathy 
to  salaried  religious  work— the  latter  being  stronger  in 
Utah,  no  doubt.  Every  Mormon  is  taught  from*  child- 
hood that  the  ordinary  Christian  minister  works  only 
from  motives  of  sect  and  salary— both  of  which  are 
selfish  and  unworthy,  and  of  course  untrue  of  any 
genuine  minister  of  Christ  (s'ee  tract  "Special  Difficul- 
ties.") Joe  Smith  seems  to  have  started  this  slander 
for  the  devilish  purpose  of  keeping  his  followers  away 
from  all  Christian  influences  and  shut  up  to  his  evil 
sway.  It  is1  almost  universally  believed  among  them 
now ;  and  it  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest  barriers  to 
keep  them  away  from  the  gospel  through  all  local 
church  channels.  And,  besides  this,  their  "elders" 
(nearly  every  man  among  them)  are  sent  out  without 
any  salary,  which  makes  such  seem  all  the  more  selfisli 
in  us,  like  doing  religious  work  for  the  profit  there  is 
in  it. 

In  such  circumstances  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  we 
ought  to  adapt  our  missionary  work,  so  far  as  possible, 
so  as  to  avoid  this  objection.  The  local  pastor  with 
family  obligations  cannot  of  course  do  this,  and  his 


3 

important  work  must  continue  as  now;  but  a  traveling 
work  can  readily  do  it,  and  thus  provide  not  only  for 
its  own  greatest  success  but  in  time  dissipate  this  ob- 
jection to  the  localized  work  as  well. 

The  one  unanswerable  way  to  do  this  is  that  which 
we  have  used  thus  far  in  all  our  work ;  simply  to  drop 
both  sect  and  salary,  giving  them  the  object-lesson  of 
most  earnest  and  self-sacrificing  work  without  any 
selfish  motive,  and  telling  them  that  this  is  for  their 
sakes,  while  we  believe  a  stated  support  is  perfectly 
right  in  other  circumstances.  We  have  tried  this  plan 
thoroughly;  and  it  has  long  been  the  writer's  belief 
that  the  unsectarian  and  unsalaried  features  add  at 
least  fifty  per-cent  to  the  moral  effect  of  our  work. 
This  means  that  if  we  should  change  our  plan  so  as  to 
given  even  a  small  salary  above  expenses  it  would  rob 
the  work  of  a  large  part  of  the  very  effect  which  we 
are  there  to  produce,  under  God — would  thus  be  in  a 
large  measure  suicidal.  In  our  calls  we  state  that  we 
do  this  to  avoid  putting  stumblingblocks  between  them 
and  the  acceptance  of  our  gospel  message;  and  that 
we  are  dependent  on  finding  friends'  East  and  West 
for  our  economical  expenses — which  puts  us  on  pre- 
cisely the  financial  level  of  the  husband,  brother,  or  at 
least  other  relative  of  the  very  person  we  are  speak- 
ing to,  and  begets  a  common  interest  and  sympathy 
which  would  otherwise  be  impossible ;  to  the  great 
help  of  our  message. 

The  dilemma  presented  by  this  situation  is  not  of 
our  choosing,  any  more  than  are  the  other  features 
of  the  terrible  Mormon  system.  But  it  is  upon  us, 
and  ^ve  are  compelled  to  meet  it,  whether  we  will  or 
no.  The  unsalaried  and  unsectarian  plan  is  possible 
by  our  methods  to  most  unmarried  men,  and  to  some 
others;  we  must  choose  it,  with  its'  utmost  possible  of 
results,  or  the  other  with  far  less.  So  Paul  might  have 
chosen.  Beyond  question  he  did  the  only  right  and 
true  thing.  Imagine  Paul,  if  we  can,  saying  (much  as 
some  men  have  said  to  the  writer  in  regard  to  even 
one  year  in  our  work)  :  "I  ought  to  have  a  good  salary 
after  all  my  preparation,  so  I  can  be  free  from  care 
and  lay  something  by.  If  the  folks  at  Corinth  will  pay 
it,  I  will  go  there;  if  not,  I  will  go  somewhere  else. 
I  am  not  called  upon  to  sacrifice  so  much  and  work  for 


4 

just  my  expenses,  even  for  one  year."  Would  not 
every  syllable  of  this  have  its  own  separate  despic- 
ableness?  It  would  seem  that  the  very  air  of  heaven 
would  refuse  to  utter  such  sounds.  We  all  know  that 
if  such  had  been  his  utterance  Corinth  would  have 
gone  unevangelized ;  and  if  Paul  had  uttered  such 
words  the  other  Apostles  would  have  had  the  same 
right  and  doubtless  the  same  spirit;  and  if  so  the 
whole  work  of  Christ  would  have  been  dropped  where 
He  left  it,  the  world  going  on  in  its  rottenness  of 
paganism  till  now.  For  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  is 
the  very  germ  of  the  Church  and  her  gospel;  and  the 
spirit  of  every  true  messenger  of  the  Cross  through  the 
ages  has  been  that  which  Paul  really  did  s'how  in  his 
glorious  words,  "Yet  have  I  made  myself  servant  [Gr. 
bond  servant,  slave]  unto  all,  that  I  might  gain  the 
more.  ...  To  the  weak  I  became  weak,  that  I 
might  gain  the  weak;  /  am  made  all  things  to  all  men, 
that  by  all  means  I  might  save  some." — I  Cor.  9 : 19-22. 
Every  thoughtful  soul  knows  that  this  spirit  has  been 
the  human  key  to  all  the  success  of  the  gospel,  and  we 
all  admire  Paul  and  the  glorious  galaxy  of  devoted 
spirits  after  him  who  have  exhibited  it.  But  is  any 
lower  spirit  justifiable  in  us?  Are  we  not  to  have  the 
same — to  be  followers  of  him  as  he  followed  Christ, 
as  himself  exhorted?  And  if  any  other  spirit  is  right, 
since  moral  principle  is  a  unit,  would  it  not  have  been 
right  for  Christ  too,  as  well  as  for  us?  The  very 
thought  is  almost  blasphemous";  such  a  purpose  would 
have  dethroned  our  Lord  and  have  made  him  almost 
a  demon;  with  the  utter  ruin  of  all  hopes  for  the 
world  included  in  the  change.  Satan  himself  could 
have  wished  nothing  worse  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
or  better  for  his  own.  Just  so  now;  to  the  extent 
that  selfish  motive  prevails  character  is  ruined,  efforts 
for  the  Kingdom  of  God  are  blighted,  and  that  of  the 
Adversary  is1  set  up  instead.  The  whole  genius  of 
Christianity  is  typified  in  the  life  of  Christ;  it  is  the 
genius  of  absolute,  total  self -sacrifice,  to  the  commands 
of  Christ  and  to  the  needs  of  men,  even  to  the  point 
of  death  if  necessary.  As  it  depended  on  this  spirit 
in  Christ  for  its  start,  in  the  Apostles  for  its  first 
growth,  and  in  missionary  heroes  for  its  progress  dur- 
ing 1,900  years,  so  it  must  still  depend  on  it  for  con- 


tinued-  growth  till  "Thy  Kingdom  Come."  We  are  not 
worthy  to  be  called  by  His  name  if  we  have  not  His 
spirit. 

Of  course  most  married  men  and  some  others  are 
debarred  from  this'  course  by  obligations  equally  bind- 
ing and  previously  imposed;  and  to  such  the  call  does 
not  come.  But  there  are  many  hundreds,  at  least,  of 
strong,  qualified  young  men  in  our  colleges  and  sem- 
inaries and  elsewhere  who  are  free  in  every  way  to 
go,  the  most  of  whom  will  be  positive  losers  instead 
of  gainers,  financially  as1  well  as  otherwise,  if  they  do 
not  give  a  period  of  service  to  this  work.  Many  who 
seemed  to  be  of  this  class  have  hitherto  known  of  the 
Utah  need,  but  have  failed  to  come.  Last  year  alone 
(1912)  about  50,000  Utah  people  were  left  without  any 
gospel  message  for  two  or  more  years  for  the  lack  of 
about  four  men.  The  only  evident  reason  why  men 
did  not  come,  in  many  cases,  was  unwillingness1  to 
accept  the  slight  sacrifice  necessary,  in  lines  financial 
or  otherwise.  So  the  work  must  suffer,  fully  12,000 
people  going  without  any  direct  gospel  work  two  or 
more  years  for  every  man  we  lack  from  our  full  force, 
and  this  with  400,000  depending  chiefly  upon  our  work ! 
But  wfat  a  responsibility  for  any  one  to  assume  as 
the  price  of  his  personal  ease  or  profit,  or  anything  of 
the  kind !  In  Ezekiel  3 :  18  the  Lord  lays  down  the 
rule  that  if  the  watchman  whom  he  sends  fails  to 
sound  the  warning,  the  blood  of  those  who  perish  will 
be  required  at  his  hand.  The  principle  is  sound,  and 
applies  as  much  now  as  ever,  and  to  the  Utah  work 
as  much  as  to  any  other.  Every  saved  soul  of  us  was 
first  converted  through  absolute,  unconditional  sur- 
render to  God.  We  belong  henceforth  not  to  ourselves 
but  to  Him,  by  this  voluntary  act ;  to  refuse  any  known 
duty  is  to  recall  this  and  forfeit  our  salvation  until  the 
surrender  is  again  restored,  as  Christ  said :  "And  who- 
soever doth  not  bear  his  cross  and  come  after  me, 
cannot  be  my  disciple." — Lukel4 :  27.  Duty  and  disci- 
pleship  are  thus  synonymous,  no  matter  what  the  sac- 
rifice involved. 

But  there  is  another  view  which  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion, though  perhaps  least  entitled  to  consideration. 
Even  our  "unsalaried"  method  covers  an  actual  cash 
value  given  and  received  which  is'  too  great  to  be  ig- 


nored.  If  we  look  at  a  year  spent  in  the  work  in  the 
light  of  a  part  of  one's  education — as  indeed  it  often  is 
a  critically  important  part — this  will  be  clear.  Many  a 
man  spends  hundreds  of  dollars  per  year  for  a  post- 
graduate course,  which  is  of  great  value  to  a  few  of 
them,  of  less  to  others,  and  of  positive  harm  to  more 
than  a  few,  after  all  the  cost.  A  year  in  our  work 
would  be  of  far  greater  value  to  almost  every  one, 
while  costing  nothing  at  all.  If  we  think  of  it  as  a 
year  of  travel,  with  its  benefits  of  knowledge  of  the 
world,  people,  human  nature,  religions,  geology,  etc., 
one  who  should  take  the  very  same  trip  by  himself 
for  a  year  which  this  work  would  give  him  would  use 
the  larger  part  of  $1,000,  while  getting  far  less  good 
than  if  he  went  with  us  without  a.  cent  of  cost,  and 
doing  almost  no  good  at  all.  The  same  would  be  true 
if  he  took  the  journeys  for  health  when  run  down. 
Of  course  such  facts  as  these  should  at  most  be  only 
subordinate  motives  in  entering  the  work;  the  real, 
decisive  one  being  the  command  and  need  voicing  the 
call  of  the  Spirit. 

The  fact  is  that  the  financial  and  other  objections 
to  this  work  on  the  score  of  hardship  are  very  much 
overworked  in  the  minds  of  many.  They  are  more  a 
bugbear  than  reality  so  far  as  the  man  of  average 
health  and  real  consecration  who  has  only  himself  to 
provide  for  is  concerned.  They  should  not  be  too 
seriously  regarded,  because, 

1.  They  are  all  unworthy  of  any  Christian  who  is 
reasonably    free   to    go    in    other    respects.      Since   the 
Utah  situation  requires  this  plan  of  work,  we  should 
do  as  Paul  did;   common  loyalty  to  Christ  and  to  souls 
demands'  that  we  give   what  is  needed,  freely,  gladly, 
manfully,  without  any  weak  or  selfish  demurring. 

2.  The  financial  loss  is  only  that  of  the  small  mar- 
gin above  expenses  which  one  might  receive  by  refusing 
this  great  and  critically  urgent  opportunity  of  spiritual 
service;   and   money  is  too  dear  at  that  price!     What 
is  money  really  good   for,  anyway,  but  to  help  in  the 
service  of  Christ  and  men?     Millions  of  people  have 
gotten  money  by  sacrificing  these ;   but  it  was  too  dearly 
bought !    If  a  man  gives  one  year  he  is  back  next  year 
ready  to   begin   at   practically   the   same   point   and   go 
ahead   as  he  would  have  done  before,  except  that  he 


is   much  better  qualified,   either  to  earn  or  to   accom- 
plish in  other  lines — the  year  has  positively  increased 
his  power,  at  no  money  outlay  to  him  at  all,  besides 
•    taking  the  gospel  to  multitudes. 

3.  The  discomforts  of  the  work  are  not  more  than 
thos'e  which  millions  of  men  take  willingly  in  getting 
their    livelihood   every   year;    as   farmers,    expressmen, 
and  workers   in   scores   of  other  lines.     It  is  made  as 
little  as  possible.     We  ought  not  to  demur  at  as  much 
discomfort   for  Christ  as  men  take  for  secular  things 
alone,    surely.      Paul   is   a   good   example  here,   again; 
and  it  is  a  part  of  the  price  of  salvation  to  us  all  that 
every   Christian  help,  with  Paul,  to  "fill  up  that  which 
is  behind  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ"  (Col.  1:24),  and 
know  "the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings"   (Phil.  3:10); 
and  as'  he  exhorts  Timothy  also,  "Be  thou  partaker  of 
the  afflictions  of  the  gospel  according  to  the  power  of 
God"  (II  Tim.  1:8);  and  "Thou  therefore  endure  hard- 
ness, as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ"  (II  Tim.  2:3), 
so  should  we  do.    These  passages  and  many  others  in- 
timate the  great  truth  that  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  alone 
is  not  enough  to  save  the  world,  but  must  be  perpetu- 
ated   daily   by   his    neople   as    it    may   be   necessary   to 
bring  His  gospel  home  to  men. 

4.  All  the  sacrifice  is  ten  million  times  compensated 
by  the  good  done  to  souls  dying  in  really  pagan  dark- 
ness',  and   again  many  times  by  the  experience,  train- 
ing for  other  service,  knowledge  and  growth  of  mind 
and  soul  which  every  earnest,  faithful  worker  receives. 
If  these  could  be  expressed  perhaps  the  account  would 
stand  something  like  this : 

Given  up:  A  saving  of  perhaps  $200  from  salary;  some 
comfort,  pleasure,  and  usefulness  elsewhere — far 
less  than  here. 

Received:    At  least  12,000  souls  helped  and  some  saved; 
a  world-foe  bravely  battled;    a  year  of  invaluable 
experience,   knowledge  and  training,  giving  added 
capacity  in  any   future  work ;    the  year  of  travel 
would  alone  cost  towards  $1,000  otherwise. 
&  Balance:    The  loss  is  put  "out  of  sight"  by  the  gains. 
And    any    one   who    labors'   in   this    right   spirit   will 

find  great  satisfaction  and  holy  joy  in  the  work.     "One 

more   day's  work  for  Jesus"   may  be  his  nightly  song, 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY  g 

from  the  heart;  and  instead  of  his  service  being  a 
perfunctory  or  compulsory  thing  it  will  be  a  really 
joyous  and  glad  one,  in  itself  and  its  results.  He  can 
almost  say,  with  the  Master  at  the  well  (John  4  :32,  34) 
"I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of  .  . 
my  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me,  and  to 
finish  his  work."  Many  letters  from  our  workers 
show  this,  as  also  the  writer  can  testify  from  many 
hundreds  of  days  of  experience.  The  joy  of  taking 
the  message  to  souls'  which  are  spiritually  starving 
repays  ten  thousand  times  all  the  sacrifice  necessary 
and  would  do  so  even  were  the  loss  a  thousand  fold 
greater.  (Read  Dan.  12:3;  Matt.  6:33;  Matt.  10:16,  29- 
31,  38,  39,  42;  Acts  13:44-52;  I  Pet.  4:13.)  The  MAN 
WITH  THE  VISION  of  spiritual  things  can  see  this, 
and  will  not  let  himself  be  blinded  by  earth's  pennies 
or  dollars.  Like  Christ  and  all  the  great  galaxy  of 
Hebrews  llth,  he  will  "walk  by  faith"  toward  the 
real  victories  which  await  him,  clear-eyed  and  strong- 
hearted.  Perhaps  we  all  need  to  remember  I  Tim. 
6:10-18. 

Reader,  if  you  are  one  who  could  go  and  help  in  this 
work,  whether  young  or  older,  will  you  not  consider 
the  matter  in  the  above  light,  being  most  careful  lest 
selfish  motive  influence  you  away  from  God's  work? 
It  seems  morally  certain  that  if  such  hindrances  were 
kept  from  influence  our  force  would  always  be  full, 
with  others  waiting  to  come,  as  ought  always  to  be  the 
case.  If  so,  half  a  generation  might  witness  a  trans- 
formation in  Mormonism  through  the  power  of  God 
in  His  Word  brought  home  to  the  people.  May  it 
not  be  so  from  now  on? 

For  fuller  facts  about  the  work,  see  our  booklet, 
"My  Field  of  Labor;  Where  does  God  Call  Me?"  etc., 
sent  free  on  application.  Address 

THE  UTAH  GOSPEL  MISSION, 

1854  E.  81st  St.,  Cleveland,  O. 


the    best    literature'  on    Mormonism,    giving 
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etc.,  send  to  us.     Packages  lOc,  25c,  55c,  and  $3.30 ;    all 
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June  1,  1913. 


